DNA Barcoding of Horseshoe Crab From Madura Island

Horseshoe crab or mimi, commonly known as horseshoe crab is an ancient animal that can live until now so it is called a living fossil. Horseschoe crab can be found in Madura, but there is no comprehensive data yet. Accurate data on horseshoe crab species is needed to determine the potential of this ancient animal, especially from the waters of Madura Island. A careful process of collecting, classifying, and identifying species as well as describing new species is still urgently needed to manage the potential of Madura’s coastal resources in a sustainable manner. Species identification is the most time-consuming, difficult, and often creates obstacles to data collection and analysis. Identification of horseshoe crab species can be carried out based on horseshoe crab morphology but it is quite complicated to do so a reliable and efficient method is needed. One of the currently developing horseshoe crab identification methods is by using molecular analysis of DNA barcoding. This research is the first attempt to identify species using DNA barcoding molecular analysis to investigate the potential of Madura Island as a source of horseshoe crab genetic diversity and is expected to be useful for the management of horseshoe crab resources. The purpose of this study is to find out the DNA of barcoding horseshoe crab species on Madura Island. Genetic marker Cytochrome Oxidase I of the mitochondrial genome DNA (mtDNA) was used to analyze genetic diversity. Reconstruction of phylogenetic tree and genetic diversity were made by using software MEGA X. Research results showed that sample closely related to Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda 99 %.